Book of the times Shetterly's new memoir, Made for You and Me: Going West, Going Broke, Finding Home is the story of hardships — financial, familial, emotional — not usually the stuff that inspires switching places.

Dismantling discrimation Gay-marriage advocates got good news last month, when the Obama administration admitted that it was incapable of defending the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the federal law that defines marriage as between one man and one woman.

Where will marijuana fit into Maine's economy? Lobsters, blueberries, potatoes, and . . . pot? As Maine's medical-marijuana program inches closer to business-as-usual, weed is on the verge of becoming a meaningful part of the state's economy — a budding piece of Maine's local, sustainable, pro-agriculture aesthetic.

Going green I'm doing a major apartment clean-up and I'm trying to dispose of my unwanted items as responsibly as possible. I'm recycling (both curbside and through Goodwill) as much as I can. But what to do with the electronic waste I've accumulated over the years?

Two recent studies examine academics and athletics in Portland's public schools Portland students are struggling with reading at elementary and secondary levels, according to a report released last week. Meanwhile, the city's two high schools are close to achieving gender equity in athletic programs, says a separate report.

Going green The announcement of the Maine Farmland Trust's ambitious 100,000-acre preservation goal wasn't the only farming news this month (see " Another row to hoe "). And, some thoughts about what lies ahead on the green front.

Land preservation Big news coming out of the Maine Agricultural Trades Show earlier this month (from which the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, MOFGA, was bizarrely excluded): the Maine Farmland Trust (MFT) announced a $50 million campaign to preserve 100,000 acres of farmland in the Pine Tree State over the next three years.

A Q-and-A with Salacious founder Katie Diamond Porn in the form of prose and poems, along with sexy and graphic illustrations and photos, fill the pages of Salacious , a new magazine dedicated to erotic art and literature, the likes of which you may never have seen — at least not compiled in one place.

Ultra-distance running On January 8, Portland native Zoe Romano will set off for a morning run in Huntington Beach, California. Make no mistake: this isn't a begrudging follow-through on a New Year's resolution, or a jog around the block. Try more than 140 not-quite-marathons, back-to-back.

A casino, wind-power exploration, fighting hunger, challenging Snowe, and more head our way in 2011 It's impossible to predict the future, obviously, but we at the Phoenix have peered into our crystal ball in search of important issues that will arise in 2011.

Going green As I write this, I'm slurping down a soup made of roasted broccoli, celery root, garlic, and broth. I'd never cooked with celery root before, but I had to learn fast — the ugly-but-tasty vegetable was included in the first box of winter farm-share produce that arrived last week.